Kodak Technical Pan development - getting it right

[thenikonknight]

I have come into possession of roll of Kodak Tech Pan film and had some questions to ensure decent development.

1) I have a 150' roll. Would that roll of film fit onto a 100' standard Watson bulk film loader?... I know TP film is much thinner but I just want to make sure.

2) What is the best developer that most closely replicates Technidol? I have heard of spotty results with Xtol but heard TD-3 was a good developer. I have a stock of Agfa Rodinal (but will I see the detail that I got from Technidol using Rodinal?)

3) When I do use a different developer; will I need to follow the rest of the steps to the T as posted on http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/p255/p255.pdf ?

Step/Solution Time
(min:sec)
Rinse — with agitation:
KODAK Indicator Stop Bath 0:15 to 0:30
KODAK EKTAFLO Stop Bath 0:15 to 0:30
Fix — with frequent agitation:
KODAK PROFESSIONAL Fixer 2:00 to 4:00
KODAK Rapid Fixer 2:00 to 4:00
KODAFIX Solution 2:00 to 4:00
Wash:
Running water 5:00 to 15:00
—OR—
Rinse with water
KODAK Hypo Clearing Agent
Running water
0:15
1:30
5:00
Final rinse:
KODAK PHOTO-FLO Solution 0:30
Dry — in a dust-free place

3a) The reason why I ask that last question is because I have developed some films in the past that did not require a stop bath. If TP does require a stop bath, do I need 2 as listed above...or is that a choice of one or the other?

3b) It lists 3 different fixing steps. Again, is that my choice or do I perform all three? I have a stock of Clayton Odorless fixer. Is this sufficient for fixing this film?

3c) Is a clearing agent preferred..or is running water better?

3d) Is KODAK PHOTO-FLO Solution still recommended with the processing of this film?

4) Can I reuse any chemicals after each processing step? If so, how many re-uses?


I'd appreciate any posts that could provide duration times and amounts (ml) of any alternative developers to Technidol. I tried doing a search for some sample images of TP in something other than Technidol. Does anyone have a resource I could navigate to?

It's been a long time since I've dabbled in B&W processing. I almost forgot about TP until I saw one of my old negatives. The detailed jumped through archival sleeve. I'd like to try to get back to that level of quality again and not screw up the processing on this new batch.

Thanks a million!

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

1) 100' will fit

2) The best developer is still Technidol - agitate exactly as shown in the instructions, be sure to drop the reels into a tank pre-filled with developer. After that I'd try TD-3. You can use any developer with it, but it would be a waste of perfectly good tech-pan.

2a) You can lower the contrast a grade by rating it at ASA 12 and pulling development 15%.

3) The rest of the processing steps aren't critical.

 

[kauffman v36]

to add to what nick said, yes 100 ft will fit. and what most people think is not important, you must drop the reel in the pre-filled tank. its a PITA but im not about to risk tech pan on being lazy. i have a box of td-3 that i havent opened, still using technidol.

2a) is this forreal? i mean im not questioning it, im just saying i wish i wouldve known this earlier, even wityh technidol its a bit contrasty. good to know

and finally, the steps after dev. are really basically the same for 99% of the films out there. kodak will say to fix their film with their fixer, same for ilford and so fourth. fixer is fixer.

 

[thenikonknight]

Thanks for the input. I guess I'll have to hunt down some Technidol. Anyone have suggestions on where I might find some? I checked Ebay without any luck.

Nicholas, when you said "...pulling development 15%" - do you mean I should reduce the development time by 15%?

I read somewhere of actually making your own recipe for developer. Has anyone done or used this method instead of Technidol on Tech Pan?
Thanks again.

 

[kauffman v36]

thenikonknight,

you can use photographers formulary TD-3 dev. as a replacement for technidol, i use both and TD-3 is fine for pictorial use, longer dev times though.

 

[PhotoJim]

I had good luck with Tech Pan in XTOL. EI 6! But nice tonality. Kodak had a recommended time that worked well for me.

 

[kauffman v36]

photojim, would you mind sharing the instructions for x-tol? EI 6 but what else? time, temp, etc

 

[PhotoJim]

It's been years since I've used Tech Pan, but I got the time and temperature and EI from Kodak's XTOL reference material. If you can't find it online, I have a copy in the darkroom that has the information, but the darkroom is in my mother-in-law's home so I don't have instant access to it. I will be there on Saturday, however.

 

[Jedidiah Smith]

What about trying one of the special developers for these same kind of films? You could use Adox Adotech (for their CMS 20) or one of the Spur developers. Erwin Puts on the Tao of Leica talks about these microfilms and developers. He could probably give you some good info on a correct developer to use if you can't find the original. Man, don't mess up that Techpan - that's like finding a gold mine. If Kodak still made Techpan, I'd shoot it all the time!
Jed

 

[RGS122]

The camera store I shop at in Fresno, California has a ton of Technidol left and I was going to buy some but it was just too many for me as I only have two rolls in hand. Anyone want to split the Technidol?

 

[kauffman v36]

RGS, how much are we technidol are we talkin? if you only want a small amount id be interested in the a decent amount of it, we can work something out.

 

[RGS122]

The Technidol is in a box and is contained in packets that look like shampoo samples. Each packet is for one roll of film. Like I said before, I only need a few packets. So if you do need the whole box, they have about ten boxes of the Technidol left by the way. The camera shop is Boot's Camera and their phone number is 559-432-0446

 

[PhotoJim]

I found the XTOL instructions that I was referring to. They're from 1996.

Here are Kodak's recommendations:

EI 4: XTOL diluted 1:2, 21 degrees, 6:00
EI 8: 1:3, 21 degrees, 8:00
EI 12.5: 1:4, 21 degrees, 10:30
EI 25: 1:5, 21 degrees, 12:30

I thought I used EI 6 but perhaps it was 8. Still, something to try.

This results in a contrast index of 0.60 which is similar to the recommended 0.58 that Kodak publishes for most of its traditional films.

 

[fotch]

The Technidol is in a box and is contained in packets that look like shampoo samples. Each packet is for one roll of film. Like I said before, I only need a few packets. So if you do need the whole box, they have about ten boxes of the Technidol left by the way. The camera shop is Boot's Camera and their phone number is 559-432-0446

Do you know if they will mail order it out? I tried calling them but must of been to late or they were real busy. Will try again tomorrow.

 

[RGS122]

I am not sure about that fotch as I've never had to do that before from them. Also here is their website with their full contact info: Dead Link Removed